One of the most common images of an advanced, Western-style culture is that of a busy, traffic-filled city. Since their first (36) on American roadways, automobiles have become a (37) of progress, a source of thousands of jobs, and an almost inalienable right for citizens’ personal freedom of movement. In recent (38) , our "love affair" with the car is being (39) directly to the developing world and it is increasingly (40) that this transfer is leading to disaster. America’s almost complete dependence on automobiles has been a terrible mistake. As late as the 1950s, a large (41) of the American public used mass transit. A combination of public policy decisions and corporate scheming saw to it that countless (42) and efficient urban streetcar and intra-city rail systems were dismantled (拆除). Our air quality now (43) the effects of pollutants emitted directly from our cars. Our lives have been planned along a road grid-homes far from work, shopping far from everything, with ugly stretches of concrete and blacktop in between. Developing countries are copying Western-style transportation systems down to the last detail. The problems caused by motorized vehicles in the West are often magnified in developing nations. Pollution-control measures are either not strict or nonexistent, (44) choking clouds of smog. Gasoline still contains lead, which is extremely poisonous to humans. Movement in some cities comes to a virtual standstill, as motorized traffic competes with bicycles and pedestrians. (45) pollution and traffic jams, auto safety is a critical issue in developing nations.